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He has not played for the club at all since submitting his transfer request, but Klopp said the player’s injury was genuine – and not a cover to pull him out of the team because he was trying to leave.

“I know what people think, but Phil had the back problem a few weeks ago and couldn’t train so that means he missed around about three weeks,” Klopp said.

“Yes, he went to the national team and trained normally, but now we have to prepare for a normal season so we have seven games before the next international break.

“We saw training [on Thursday] morning and thought, ‘OK, maybe we should use him immediately’, because he was really good, but that doesn’t make sense.

“We have now to continue with the pre-season, not too long, but in a few sessions we have to give ourselves the time because in the next month we have seven games.

“We always have the same decision to make, ‘does he need training or can he play?’ and all that stuff.

“Yes, he will now do a little bit more than the other boys but he showed up in a very, very good mood and looks really promising.”